Radio

Talking tech on live radio

Neville Hobson 13 Comments Business, Communication, Entertainment, Experiences, Podcasting, Professional Development, Radio, Technology

For the past six months, I’ve been taking part in a live radio show every other Tuesday as a guest contributor to a morning show on Share Radio UK, a start-up digital radio station broadcasting in London and online. It’s huge fun discussing myriad topical stories related to technology with Georgie Frost, presenter of the daily Consuming Issues show, in the segment called #FutureTech. For about 20-25 minutes, Georgie and I talk about issues and topics that matter to consumers, sharing our thinking about those issues and topics that we think will interest, help or otherwise engage those consumers who listen on DAB or online. You can get a great sense of what our discussions are like with yesterday’s episode: […]

Continue reading

Podcasting in the long tail

Neville Hobson 5 Comments Communication, Entertainment, Podcasting, Radio, Social Media

Far from changing the radio landscape, podcasting has been commandeered by the radio industry, says Richard MacManus in his post Radio Killed the Podcasting Star. As a podcaster myself, I’d say MacManus has written a fair assessment of a podcasting landscape that is indeed dominated by the mainstream media rather than by the independent voices with something to say that was envisioned in the audio medium’s early days eight years ago. Then, podcasting was seen by many as the big challenger to homogenized playlist-driven radio in the US, a means to democratize radio broadcasting and enable anyone with something to say to, well, say it. Today, for anyone wanting to make a podcast, the barriers to entry are about zero, […]

Continue reading

The 2012 Olympics TV experiences look very good

Neville Hobson 7 Comments Business, Communication, Entertainment, Events, Experiences, Mainstream Media, Mobile, Online Media, Radio, Social Networks, Society, Sport, Technology, Television, Web

Whatever else is going on about the London 2012 Olympics – border control  nightmares at Heathrow, cracks in the M4 motorway, cellular network outages, not enough security staff – it looks like mainstream broadcast media have things well under control to offer amazing experiences throughout the games. The BBC already announced details of its blanket coverage for UK viewers, with live broadcasting every event in high definition available on multiple devices from traditional TVs to the web and mobile: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/bbc2012/gamestime/broadcasting.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/bbc2012/gamestime/digital.html In the US, NBC is right out there with its plans for live broadcasting every game to US audiences: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/27/nbc-london-olympics-2012-streaming-tv-3d/ And for mobile devices, news about a company called Elemental Technologies which has done a deal with the BBC […]

Continue reading

Stream (and buy) music while you do the grocery shopping

Neville Hobson 6 Comments Business, Marketing, Mobile, Music, Public Relations, Radio, Social Media, Society, Trends

If you do your grocery shopping in Tesco, you may already know that you can stay connected in the depths of the typical supermarket where no network signal usually reaches, thanks to Tesco’s own wifi network in most stores. Now, you’ll be able to enjoy your weekly shopping by listening to streaming music to your mobile device from the We7 internet radio station that Tesco just bought. It’s free to listen to as it’s currently ad supported. While this move is another step by the UK’s biggest supermarket chain to further develop its digital offerings, it’s also another example of how the retail experience for consumers is far more than just putting stuff in your shopping trolley and paying for […]

Continue reading

Product placement comes to UK TV and radio

Neville Hobson 16 Comments Advertising, Business, Communication, Mainstream Media, Marketing, Radio, Television

Broadcast industry regulator Ofcom confirmed this week that product placement – paid-for references for products and services – will be allowed in UK TV programmes for the first time from next February. […] Ofcom has today [December 20] published the rules governing product placement, including what can and can’t be shown on TV screens. We have also relaxed the rules on paid-for references to brands and products in radio programmes. Both sets of rules will enable commercial broadcasters to access new sources of revenue, whilst providing protection for audiences. The rules include: restrictions on the types of products that can be placed; restrictions on the types of programmes in which products can be placed; and limits on the way in […]

Continue reading